Japan's fiscal 2016 tax revenue came in around 2.1 trillion yen ($18.5 billion) below the initial forecast, casting doubt over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to replenish government coffers by spurring growth in the corporate sector. (Nikkei)

A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a minor after he enticed a high school girl to live with him for a month, police said Thursday. (Japan Today)

A group of local assembly members in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures who have publicly identified their sexual-minority status said Thursday they launched an inter-assembly league to promote policies supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. (Japan Today)

Record rainfall has hit parts of the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan. (NHK)

A 27-year-old man was arrested Thursday in Shizuoka Prefecture on suspicion of fatally stabbing a total stranger with a knife, police said. (Japan Times)

The Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday arrested Yoshiyuki Kurita, 64, a former senior executive of Narita International Airport Corp., for allegedly receiving ¥600,000 in bribes in return for business favors. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan's oldest "love doll" manufacturer wants to strip the sex toys of their seedy image and encourage people to see them as works of art instead. (Japan Times)

Japan has one official holiday in July. Marine Day, or Umi no Hi as it’s called in Japanese, is held on the third Monday of the month, and is a nice midsummer excuse to blow off work and head down to the beach. (rocketnews24.com)

Japan's labor shortage has pushed the number of people changing jobs and employers during their career to its highest level since the global financial crisis, as companies scramble for workers with experience amid a rapidly-aging economy. (Japan Times)

Police arrested a man on arson charges after the bodies of a woman and two toddlers believed to be his wife and children were found at the scene of a fire at a home in Miyagi Prefecture early Tuesday. (Japan Times)

Preparations for shipping MOX, or mixed oxide, fuel to be used in a recently restarted nuclear reactor in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, is underway in northwestern France. (NHK)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says the Japanese government is doing all it can to rescue people and assess the damage from the downpours in northern Kyushu. (NHK)

Where is the world's most beautiful Starbucks? Japan, of course. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Police in Tokyo said Tuesday have arrested a 61-year-old deliveryman on suspicion of stealing women's underwear and said they had found more than 1,000 items of women's lingerie and clothing at his home. (Japan Today)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to call on world leaders to pressure North Korea at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Germany, following the reclusive country's ballistic missile launch on Tuesday. (the-japan-news.com)

Japan's blue chips managed to hold the line above 20,000 Tuesday despite North Korea's best efforts to rain on the parade. But the real test lies in whether the market value can last long beyond the 600 trillion yen ($5.29 trillion) barrier, which has proved the downfall of many a rally. (Nikkei)

Japan's Meteorological Agency has lifted an emergency heavy rain warning for the western prefecture of Shimane after torrential rains caused by a front weakened. (Japan Times)

More than half of freshly minted presidents at major Japanese enterprises in the first six months of this year were in their 50s, according to a Nikkei Inc. survey. (Nikkei)

The Japanese government says it plans to spend the proceeds from planned casinos for the public good. (NHK)

Japan's transport ministry is set to help regional airports attract more international flights in an effort to boost the number of foreign tourists to the country. (NHK)

Japan's panda-obsessed public got their latest fix of cute Tuesday as a Tokyo zoo released footage of its 20-day-old helpless cub, who has ballooned in size since its birth last month. (Japan Today)

A recently opened theater in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward featuring maiko young female entertainers is becoming a popular tourist attraction for visitors from abroad. (the-japan-news.com)

Major Japanese travel agency JTB estimates that more than 77 million people will take overnight or longer trips from July 15th through August 31st. That is up 0.8 percent from last year, and will mark the first uptick in 4 years. (NHK)

Severe tropical storm Nanmadol is bringing heavy rain to western Japan. (NHK)

Two women were struck and killed by a train along the Tobu Tojo Line tracks in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday morning, in what police believe was a suicide. (Japan Today)